Witchcraft
by In The Beginning
Summary: He had the rare power... one that many surgeons would kill to have. He had the power to stop demons... but he would soon find out that with that ability came the aptitude to create monsters. PreNB, Massive Spoilers later
1. The Setup

(The long-awaited-- okay, maybe not _long_-awaited, but still, you waited for it- sequel to "Sorcery of Salvation"! Wheee!

I'm trying to think of random things to say here to waste time. :D It's what I'm good at. Just ask my friends. "GOD all she ever does is slack off and do nothing!"

Okay, that _is_ a lie-- I'm writing this, aren't I:D

Let's begin.

Markus, Professor Wilkens, Valerie, Dr. Chen © Nintendo

Humani © Nintendo)

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Witchcraft

Chapter One- The Setup

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The television blared loudly, its bright lights flashing in the dark room...

But its high volume and flashing luminescences failed to distract Markus, who continued to stare at the ceiling through half-lidded eyes.

_Breathe... Relax..._

The colors of the room began to fade to a pasty grey...

_I am one with life..._

The cerulean star glimmered in his mind's eye...

_I am one... with--_

_Riiiiing._

His dark hazel eyes flew open.

"..._damnit_..."

_Riiiiing._

Tiredly, Markus lifted himself off of the couch, walking over to the phone.

_Riii--_

"Good evening, Professor."

"Good evening, Markus. I assume you were practicing your witchcraft again?"

A tired smile played at Markus' lips.

"You_ do_ have a special gift for calling me just when I'm beginning my meditations."

"Perhaps you should consider meditating at another time then, Markus. Those mice you created are finally ready; I will need you to come in tomorrow morning at six."

Markus successfully fought back a groan.

"Alright... thank you, Professor Wilkens. I'll see you tomorrow, then."

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He was incredibly grateful that his coffee shop was always open.

At five forty-five, Markus strode in the front doors of Concordia, sipping his black coffee...

"Oh-- good morning, Dr. Vaughn. How are you today?"

Markus glanced over the top of his coffee cup to see who had spoken--

"Ah... good morning, Valerie. You're here early today, aren't you?"

Twenty-five-year-old Valerie Blaylock chuckled briefly, idly playing with her short, dark hair.

"Yes... Dr. Chen told me to work the four to two shift today, so... here I am. And what about you? You're not here usually until noon..."

"I have lab work to do today," Markus admitted to the resident, a small smile playing at his lips. "You won't see me much today anyways... I'll see you later, Valerie."

"Have a good day, Dr. Vaughn."

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"I must admit, Markus, I didn't actually expect you to come in so early."

The dark-haired surgeon chuckled, sipping from his coffee.

"I'd have been here earlier if I hadn't been stopped by Dr... Blaylock, is it? Anyways, what are we doing today, Professor?"

"We will be extracting most of one kidney from each mouse," Lloyd Wilkens announced, fixing his monocle, which threatened to fall from his eye. "I just received a new serum from the Humani organization... you will cover the remainder of the kidney with this serum. It's supposed to aid in and activate the cellular regeneration process."

"Alright..." Markus nodded. "Let's get started, then."

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(End chapter one.

DUN DUN DUN.

I love that sound effect. Like, you have no idea. :D

DUN DUN DUN.

I should probably stop soon... Hey, Val was here, aren't you all happy!

DUN DUN DUN.

I'll stop now.

Please review!)


	2. Research

(Holy crap! I'm updating a story with an extended plot?!

Just so you're warned now-- don't expect much from this chapter. It's boring, it's short, and it was written approximately two weeks after I had gotten Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn. With that said... after my ACT and such, I will desperately try to stay more on task story-wise.

Before I forget.

DUN DUN DUNNNNN.

With that said, I shall listen to Queen as I type the rest of this.

Markus, Professor Wilkens, Dr. Chen © Nintendo

The name Lily © Picup)

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Witchcraft

Chapter Two- Research

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"There are fifty mice- twenty-five brown, twenty-five white, and only two that are normal by all medical definitions of the word. You shall take the brown mice, Markus; I will work with the white ones. Is that acceptable?"

"It wouldn't matter if I said no; you have more authority than I do," Markus chuckled, a faint smile playing at his lips as he carefully lifted up a brown mouse with no left eye. "Did you know that my sister used to have pet mice? They drove the dog crazy..."

"That's fascinating, Markus," Lloyd Wilkens replied flatly-- his conspicuous effort to end the unnecessary conversation. The dark-haired surgeon sighed silently before focusing intently on his work.

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_Ctrl. Sub. brwn- ctrl - no adverse reaction to serum_

_Ctrl. Sub. white- ctrl- no adverse reaction_

_01 brwn- msng eye- no adverse reaction_

_01 white- brain tumors- shedding fur_

_02 brwn . . ._

The result of three long, torturous hours of tedious experimental surgeries was a data chart filled all the way up to number seventeen for brown mice, and thirteen for white. The professor was carefully dissecting the kidney of his fourteenth "patient" just as his assistant placed brown mouse eighteen on the miniature table.

Markus quickly checked the tag on the mouse's ear for its number and health anomaly.

_18 brwn- synth. bld trnsfsn-_

But before Markus could even consider picking up his scalpel, the cell phone in his coat pocket rang, its obnoxiously loud sound startling the phone's owner.

_Riiiiing._

The mouse in his hand scampered off, dashing across the table back to its still-intact brethren.

"Damn... excuse me, professor..."

The dark-haired surgeon stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him before quickly pulling out his phone and answering it.

_Riii--_

"Hello?"

"Dr. Vaughn, we need your help in the ER!"

Markus blinked rapidly for a few brief seconds.

"Dr. Chen?"

Lily Chen's aggravated sigh more fully revealed her frustration.

"There was an accident on the freeway a short while ago-- there is not enough doctors to handle them all here. We need your help, now!"

"I'll be there in a minute!" Markus barked in reply before hanging up abruptly. Whirling around, he opened the solid oak door once again--

"Professor, there's been a traffic accident; Dr. Chen has requested my--"

"Go ahead, Markus."

The brunette surgeon left, dashing down the halls towards the operating room.

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(End chapter two.

That only took three months, right?

Well, I started writing chapter three, so hopefully it won't be another three-month wait, yeah? Maybe it can get narrowed down to... two.

DUN DUN DUNNNN.

Please review!)


	3. Assistance

(They call what I'm doing mental suicide.

I really just don't even care anymore. I'm so tired, bu that shall not stop me!

This chapter is long, too, but stuff happens, so that's good. ...and I love this song. "Tranquilize" by The Killers. Good stuff here.

Let's begin.

Markus, Val, Dr. Chen, Professor Wilkens © Nintendo

Healing Touch © Nintendo)

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Witchcraft

Chapter Three- Assistance

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"Alright... this patient is good to go..."

Markus sighed as the patient was rolled out of the operating room. He, too, stepped out for the first time in almost two hours- or in eleven patients, as the dark-haired surgeon preferred to look at it. A tired sigh escaped his lips as he carefully began pulling his surgical mask away from his face.

"Man, I really need some coffee..."

"Dr. Vaughn!"

Markus spun around, his surgical mask hanging around his neck as he saw Dr. Chen hurrying towards him; blood stained her scrubs, and slight worry along with frustration marred her normally calm expression.

"Dr. Blaylock is having difficulty with her patient!" the female surgeon barked, her light eyes flashing. "Go and help her-- she is in room five, and I must take care of another patient!"

"Yes, Dr. Chen!" Markus nodded, dashing down the hall, pulling his mask back over his mouth.

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"T-the bleeding... w-why won't it stop...?!"

Try as she might to maintain her composure, Val only grew more panicked as all her attempts to stop the bleeding of the man on the table were for naught; blood poured out of his punctured heart, his impaled lung, his ruptured spleen...

"I- I can't--!"

"Valerie!"

Val's head shot up; she saw Markus hurrying over to her, no fear in his dark hazel eyes.

"D-Dr. Vaughn...!"

"Move over, and pull yourself together!" the elder surgeon ordered, quickly taking the spot that the younger surgeon vacated. "Can you tell me what the situation is?"

"M-Multiple... punctured organs, i-including the heart and a ruptured spleen," Val stammered as Markus snatched the drain. "H-his ribs are se-severely broken..."

"Alright... Val, listen carefully," Markus began, his voice firm, yet calming. "Inject him with stabilizer until his vitals are okay; then, grab the forceps. Got that?"

"Y-yes," the female surgeon nodded shakily, taking a syringe and filling it with the stabilizer. She proceeded to inject the green fluid into the man's arm, but as soon as his vitals hit sixty, she replaced the needly in her hand with the bloodstained forceps.

"Okay... you see that bone chip in the left atrium?"

"...n-now I do, yes."

"Pull it out, then hand me the sutures."

With great care, Val slowly pulled out the large bone fragment, placing it on the tray beside her before handing Markus the sutures. There was no hesitation in his motions as the dark-haired surgeon sewed the gash shut.

"Alright, his heart looks good... but I don't like the shape his lung's in. Get the forceps ready, Val; I'll just hold onto the sutures."

"Y-yes, Dr. V--"

"Enough of the 'Dr. Vaughn' crap. My name is Markus, alright?"

"Yes... Markus."

Throughout the course of the operation, Val found her nerves settling and her sense of awe growing; she constantly envied Markus' calm nature-- not even an unexpected rupture in the patient's spleen seemed to phase him as he continued sewing the gashes in the lung.

"...okay. I don't see any fragments in the spleen; you can put the forceps down. Take the sutures, and get ready for when I've drained away enough blood."

"Alright, Markus."

As the nozzle of the drain sucked up the ruby liquid from the delicate organ, Val's uncertain hands carefully began suturing a laceration shut--

"...no."

She looked up.

"'No'?"

"Your stitches are too loose," Markus frowned. "The wound will open again. Here, give me the sutures back, and you take the drain."

As soon as the exchange of surgical instruments was made, Val watched her senior sew the cut shut--

_W-whoa... He moves so fast..._

"Get that pool of blood, over there."

Snapping back to attention, the female surgeon drained the small puddle that obfuscated Markus' view. He closed the wound, directing Val to another collection of blood. So it went, until...

"That... should do it. Now we can rebuild his ribs--"

"But, Markus... his vitals aren't stabilizing. I think he's still bleeding from somewhere..."

"...yeah, you're right. But I don't see anything--"

The sudden, frantic beeping of the heart monitor broke Markus' focus.

"Damn...! He's going into cardiac arrest!"

"I'll get the defi--" Val began.

"It'll be faster to massage it by hand!" Markus cut her off, taking the patient's heart into his gloved hand--

Something blunt and solid rubbed up against Markus' finger. Curious, he looked over--

"I've found the source of the bleeding-- I need the forceps, and have the sutures ready!"

"What's the cause of the bleed?" Val queried as she slapped the forceps into Markus' outstretched hand.

"There's a bone lodged in the right auricle, and the blood is seeping out," the elder surgeon growled, Val's voice sounding more distant as he carefully began pulling out the shard...

_Breathe... Focus..._

The colors he could see began to dim slightly...

_I hope I don't have to use this... but just in ca--_

An involuntary twitch was all it took.

Markus' eyes widened in horror as the bone shifted sideways, tearing the wound open-- blood poured out, staining everything it touched with its crimson hue--

_No!_

The cerulean star flashed in front of Markus' dark hazel eyes.

_You're not dying here!_

The bone fragment was no longer coated with red, but with dark grey-- not that it mattered, for Markus quickly removed it with a cautious, gentle tug forward.

Spinning around, the dark-haired surgeon placed the chip on the tray before snatching the sutures from the slow-moving Val. He immediately pinched the gaping wound shut, carefully suturing it closed, exercising great care so as not to stab himself...

_..there._

Color flooded back into Markus' world; faded sounds now resonated with new life... including the faint, steady beeping of the heart monitor.

"...wh-what was that...? Was that... the--"

Val's quiet, sudden question made the elder surgeon realize how tired he felt. Even now, so soon after ending his power, Markus felt a sudden tremor creep into his hands...

"Val... you can finish this... right? Rebuild his ribs, and close him up?"

"Huh? Y-yeah, why?"

"You don't n-need me for this anymore..." Markus muttered, cursing the slight stammer that came out. "I have to go... take care of something important."

"...alright. Thanks for your help, Markus..."

A faint "you're welcome" was all Val heard as the elder surgeon quickly walked out of the room, pulling his surgical mask away from his mouth before he suffocated--

"Dr. Vaughn, where are you going? There is a chair here. Sit."

The dark-haired surgeon let out a cry of surprise as he abruptly collapsed into a folding chair, with the help of a chuckling Dr. Chen.

"Exercising your psychic powers again, Dr. Chen?" Markus finally smiled, pulling off his bloody gloves before sinking into the metal chair. "God, I'm exhausted..."

"If by my psychic powers, you mean my skills in prediction, then yes-- they have been used often today," Lily Chen smirked. "Also, perhaps you would not be so tired if you practiced your talent more often, hm?"

"Ha! Tell that to Professor Wilkens," the male surgeon laughed briefly, rubbing his eyes tiredly as strength slowly crept back into his body. "He has the most impeccable timing ever; every time I start to meditate, he calls..."

"That's_ his_ power. But, since you're out here, that means that Dr. Blaylock is almost done, yes?"

"Yeah, she's just rebuilding the ribs and closing him up..."

"Very well, then I shall make sure you did not make things worse."

"How comforting. Thank you for your lack of faith."

Lily chuckled.

"Go back to your office, Markus."

Dr. Chen slipped into the operating room, leaving Markus alone to slowly regain his strength.

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(End chapter three.

YES! It's over four pages! I rule!

And drool, but that's another story altogether. XD

I'm working on chapter four, a oneshot, possible another oneshot, and my National Honors Society essay. Imagine, I may be a member of the National Honors Society, but I can't even spell my name right on the PSAT. What is this world coming to?

DUN DUN DUNNNN!

Please review!)


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